How to Belong
by Lukeprism
Summary: Sequel to PUPPY LOVE. As Lucas and Claus' relationship develops, they discover that life doesn't always go quite the way you want it to. Sometimes, that's for the best. Claus/Lucas, AU. Chapter One — Seven Years Later...


**Before I even start this AN I'd just like to say I'm extremely sorry that I dropped off the planet. Real stuff needed to be done and what little free time I had was spent Miiversing/gaming. :c I had no drive to write. I still don't, not really, but this has been done for forEVER and I just wanna get it out here now. Maybe it'll spur something inside me.**

**A/N: Hello there! Welcome to my first ever attempt at a sequel: How to Belong! Before we begin, I'd like to say a couple things.**

**First off, it's not completely necessary for you to read the prequel, Puppy Love, to read this, but I recommend it. It's silly, kinda long and has some glaring inconsistencies, but it's a good time. It'll help explain some things here, too.**

**Second, this fic will (hopefully) have a more...mature feel to it than PL did. It'll deal with some topics that may take a little research on my part, so bear with me, pretty please.**

**But, yeah! Here's to hoping for another swell ride.**

**WARNINGS****: Depictions of homosexuality, mild language.**

**DISCLAIMER****: Oh, goodness. This again. I'm fairly sure I own absolutely nothing here.**

**—s—t—a—r—t—f—i—c—t—i—o—n—**

A man lay motionless beneath the snowy white sheets, mouth slightly open and emitting a not-so-subtle snore. The sun's rays filtered in through the space between the curtains that dressed the window, illuminating the occupied bed with the late morning light. The wooden door to the room creaked open slowly, mindful of the sleeping figure. Out stepped a person, another man, padding across the carpet slowly until he reached his destination—the bedside. Chuckling, he leaned his torso over and brushed his lips over the dozing man's neck. "Rise and shine, love."

He waited a moment, formally, not really expecting a response. When none was given, he brought hands up to brush through brilliantly red hair, bringing his head to hover above the exposed ear. "Time to wake up."

Now he seemed to take notice, shifting a bit under the covers. "Mmm," he grunted groggily, appreciative of the ministrations but not at all interested in heeding his words.

Another chuckle. "Claus, seriously. How long did you even stay up last night?"

A few moments passed before Claus turned his body a bit, so that he was completely face up. "'Till like two o'clock or somethin'," he muttered, rubbing his face tiredly.

The blonde standing above him tutted knowingly. "Again? You know, the concept of time management would do you some good."

Now the redhead frowned, opening his eyes to allow his jade irises to glare up at his partner. "Lucas, shut up. I had a deadline to meet. I still missed the goddamn thing, but whatever." His expression softened a bit. "What're you doing home so early, anyway?"

Lucas smiled serenely downwards, taking it upon himself to sit down beside Claus' form. "Came home for lunch for a change, only to find you sleeping the day away." He used his right hand to pat the man's shoulder a couple times. "Come on, I made us some sandwiches."

Claus still didn't look all that convinced. "Can't you just wait five more minutes? I mean, it's not like you're—"

He was cut off rather abruptly by a swift kiss, Lucas having all but thrown himself on top of his partner. Claus, not entirely displeased with this course of action, brought the blonde's face closer and went to deepen the kiss when said man pulled away, a smirk in place of his prior good-natured smile. "Get up."

Claus could practically hear the unspoken promise of a continuation if and when he obeyed, so out of bed he slid, suddenly a bit less exhausted and a bit more enthusiastic. Dressed in a simple black tee shirt and khaki shorts as a result of his late night escapades the night before, he simply stretched himself out before taking slow, half-drowsy steps towards the doorway. He was tall in his own right, though not impressively. He'd retained his relatively thick features from his adolescence, resulting in fairly chiseled appendages.

Lucas trailed behind him, grinning to himself. He, on the other hand, donned baggy blue scrubs covered by a long white coat—a sure sign of his having spent the morning doing his usual intern work at the local hospital. The blonde was taller than Claus by a couple of inches, and accordingly he was thinner in structure. His hair still refused to do anything other than bounce up at the top, though it was smaller than usual due to a recent hair cut.

The duo made their way through the small hallway quickly enough. They lived in a two bedroom apartment together, located north of Tazmily's central square of shops. It was exactly opposite Claus' parents' house, where they frequently visited now that they were settled into the condominiums.

Their living room attached directly to the small kitchenette in the front of the flat, flanked by a little table to its left. It was on this table that Lucas had placed two plates, each housing a sandwich surrounded by potato chips. Claus found his stomach growling, having not eaten a proper meal in almost twenty-four hours.

As the shorter man went straight for his meal, Lucas' coat trailed behind him as he made to wash his hands. "So you're all done for the week, right?"

There was a pause in which Claus chewed and swallowed. "Yeah. I'll probably get my next assignment Monday or Tuesday."

"Mm." Flicking loose water off his hands, the blonde turned the tap off and grabbed the hand towel hanging from the oven's handle. "Well, I have work tomorrow, but on Friday Doctor Lazar's going to a wedding."

Claus looked up as his partner sat down in front of him. "So you're off for an entire week? Sweet." He was going to leave it at that, wondering if Lucas was thinking about the same thing as he.

The two were silent then, busy eating. Claus practically inhaled his chips, not even halting the process for a drink of water. Lucas watched on, amused, munching on his own sandwich thoughtfully. "I was thinking maybe that would be the day."

Claus was wiping his face with a napkin when Lucas spoke. They locked eyes. "Lucas," Claus began, and instantly the man looked ready to interrupt him. "No, listen. You know that I'm just as interested in this as you are. But do you really think we're ready?" His face darkened. "Not to mention it won't be easy or cheap. People don't much approve of households like ours."

"That isn't a new thing." Lucas then sighed. "It's not going to get any better anytime soon, either. We have the money; we've been thinking about this for a while." He reached across and laid his hand on Claus' arm. "I think we're ready."

And he was right, of course; they had been seriously debating this, for almost two years. They'd been saving up their well-earned DP for a reason. Now all that was left was to find the time to begin. Both were admittedly excited by the notion, but Claus still wondered.

The redhead held his gaze for a long moment before relaxing and mirroring Lucas' move, resulting in their hands interlocking. "Alright. Friday it is."

Lucas' smile rendered Claus unable to continue feeling uncertain. "Good!" he beamed, taking more food into his mouth thereafter.

Claus watched him eat passively. "Guess I'll have to go out and get some sheets, huh?" Their spare bed was but a frame and mattress.

"Yes. More food, too." He laughed to himself. "Just think. This time next week, we might be parents!"

His excitement was contagious; the shorter man also smiled. "It's a little crazy."

Lucas just nodded, stuffing the last of his sandwich into his mouth before standing up, taking both their empty plates to the sink. "Yeah. Scary, too."

Claus followed him up, hugging him from behind as he washed his hands once again. "Mhmm. But you know what I think?"

Lucas leaned back into the contact, grabbing for the hand towel. The redhead could hear the smile in his voice. "What's that?"

On the tip of his toes, he rested his head on Lucas' shoulder. "You're going to make a great father."

Now the blonde turned around fully, chuckling and pulling Claus close. "And so will you." Their lips met briefly for a kiss.

When he pulled away without so much as a three second pause, Claus almost pouted. "Hey! You're not in that much of a hurry, are you?"

Lucas shrugged his shoulders apologetically, though one could tell that he enjoyed being pined for. "Well, yes. I did have to make our lunch, you know. Eats up some time." He grabbed his keys from the countertop before ruffling Claus' hair. "Don't go out without brushing your hair, by the way." He grinned at the man's eyeroll. "See you tonight."

Claus crossed his arms. "Love you."

The front door opened. "Love you more," Lucas replied, with a wink. He was followed by the slam of the door.

Shaking his head, the remaining man rubbed a hand across his chin. "I should probably shave..." he spoke aloud to himself after a while, noting the stubble present on his face, but he couldn't be bothered to do it right then.

Instead, he strayed to the small table in the living room's right corner, which was littered with pieces of paper everywhere. Plopping himself down on the equally as minute chair, he went about gathering the pages together, putting them in order and placing them all in a manilla envelope as he went. Claus was a freelance illustrator, and his most recent assignment had been to illustrate a children's book being published in two months' time. They were due in three days, so he would have to ship them out as soon as he was able. He scrawled the address on the envelope's back, attached the correct number of stamps and laid it down again, reaching for a blank sheet of paper now.

Drawing just for the hell of it was and had always been Claus' stress reliever; his job required near perfect, predetermined pieces, but during downtimes such as these, he could let the pen and his wandering mind do all the work. As his hand moved erratically, he found himself sketching a person—a child, from the looks of it. He had filled in facial features and completed the torso before he thought about who exactly this was, promptly deciding that it was no one in particular.

It did lead back into his thoughts, though. They, Lucas Sakai and Claus Itoi, were seriously going to be parents, together. Of a child they'd never even met yet. In about a week's time. The duo had prepared for this, yes; various skeptical homestudies had been conducted, they'd been keeping contact with the agency, and the two had even attended many a seminar devoted to foster child care. But the notion was almost scary. So many things could go wrong. What if they raised the kid horribly? What if the kid didn't even like them? Because of their relationship? What if they came with extreme emotional baggage? What if they couldn't even find that one special kid?

Claus clicked his pen closed and stared at his illustration. The gender was rather ambiguous, but they wore an oversized jacket and small scarf. Long (rather short if considered female) dark strands of hair were brushed back to reveal big eyes, looking rather distant despite their 2D nature. All in all it was a good-looking drawing, but an obviously not-so-well off child. Perhaps this was what their "dream" child would look like?

The redhead shook his head and crumpled the paper up, throwing it in the conveniently placed trash bin adjacent to the desk. Thinking things like that was bad luck. They would end up with who they'd end up with, and that was that.

Ditching the idea of doodling his way to a peace of mind, Claus rose from his chair and walked two and a half steps to flop down on the sofa a little ways away.

Perhaps a nap would do him some good.

**—e—n—d—c—h—a—p—t—e—r —**

**A/N: Obligatory (lame) introductory chapter. You can see Claus and Lucas' dynamic and get an idea of what exactly they're planning to do. I'd also like to say that I'm doing my research for this fic, though some stuff will probably still be inaccurate.**

**As a side note, there's a poll on my profile. You should participate! Please? Spoiler: It affects this fic.**

**Anyway, I'd be very happy if you dropped me a review, telling me whatcha liked, didn't like, things I can improve on, etc. etc. I can always use some critique. Thanks for reading; here's to hoping you stick around. C:**

**つづく**


End file.
